Signs of Negative Economic Impact Growing

Like 2011's Debt Standoff, Drop in Consumer Confidence, Stock Prices Show That Washington Battles Come With a Price

By

Sudeep Reddy And

E.S. Browning

Dec. 30, 2012 8:09 p.m. ET

The damage may already be done.

Even if lawmakers manage to avoid most of the $500 billion in tax increases and spending cuts set to take effect this week, the risks to the U.S. economy have risen as consumers and investors recoil from Washington's latest budget spectacle.